St. Johns area march housing starts released

Urban housing starts increased during the month of March, according to preliminary data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
March's housing starts totalled 75 throughout the St. John's area versus 45 starts in March of 2009.
There were six additional starts recorded outside the St. John's area, for a total of 81 provincial urban starts compared to 47 last March.
For the first quarter of 2010, there was a record 246 urban housing starts posted in the St. John's region versus 214 during the same period in 2009.
"March's strong new home construction activity was due to a combination of continued demand and another unseasonably mild winter month," said Chris Janes, senior market analyst with CMHC in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"Positive economic and demographic factors continue to support residential construction activity throughout the St. John's region and the first three months of 2010 indicate a solid start to the year," added Janes.